American University · 1 day ago
Temporary Research Assistant
Washington, DC
Full-time
Onsite
Entry Level
$22.91/hr - $22.91/hr
1+ years expAmerican University is a student-centered research institution located in Washington, DC, with a reputation for creating meaningful change in the world. The Research Assistant will assist with animal behavior research, performing tasks such as training and testing rats, maintaining equipment, and analyzing data.
Higher Education
Responsibilities
Training and Testing Rats
Perform daily behavioral training and testing of rat subjects including setting up operant chambers, refilling syringes, setting up software to control experiments, placing rats into operant chambers, monitoring ongoing behavior and experimental events, and recording behavior
Assist and or carry out small rodent surgery under Dr. Kearns’s supervision) as needed per testing requirements
Equipment Maintenance and Testing
Perform regular testing and maintenance on all experimental equipment used in the course of lab research
Clean operant chambers and other lab areas as needed
Animal Care
Handle, weigh, feed, administer medication to rats, under Dr. Kearns’s supervision
Transport rats from vivarium to testing rooms and return to vivarium when done
Record weights and procedures performed
Perform catheter maintenance for all rat subjects each day to ensure that all test subjects are appropriately cared for and fit for required experiments
Complete animal research compliance training and documentation
Analysis
Collect and save data to spreadsheets
Statistically analyze results from testing and make figures or tables of results
Draft and/or review research reports (journal articles, primarily) on findings
Present research findings in lab meetings, colleagues, and possibly at conferences
Supply Maintenance
Maintain a careful inventory of supplies and equipment used in experiments, testing, and animal care
Alert Dr. Kearns or other lab members when a particular supply is running low and needs to be ordered
Receive shipments of supplies and/or equipment and put in their proper places (i.e., shelves, cabinets, or closets) in the lab
Communication and Collaboration
Reliably respond to emails regarding lab work
Communicate and coordinate with Dr. Kearns and graduate student and undergraduate members of the lab regarding daily schedules, assigned activities, recent research results, problems with the research, and absences
Instruct student members of the lab on procedures as needed
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree or equivalent
Less than 1 year of relevant experience
Preferred
Bachelor's degree
1-3 years of relevant experience
Benefits
AU offers a competitive benefits package.
Company
American University
American University's historic academic strengths are rooted in social responsibility and our dedication to cultural and intellectual diversity.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
American University has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (13)
2024 (20)
2023 (7)
2022 (17)
2021 (9)
2020 (18)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Rodrigo Yepez-Lopez
Co-founder of Legal Haven
Katie Benoit
Interim Deputy Athletic Director/Chief Operating Officer/Senior Woman Administrator
Recent News
News is my Business
2024-03-04
PR Newswire
2023-12-12
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